Typical ankle foot orthoses use rigid plastic as the primary element of the device with a traditional design that provides less control and less comfort. This traditional design and approach often leads to gait compensation and more limited results for the patient.
The traditional leather ankle gauntlet has been a popular orthosis for nearly 25 years. Though widely accepted for a wide range of patient pathologies, its design features in many cases create problems. These traditional leather gauntlets are nearly impossible to adjust in the field, are difficult to clean, have limited durability, and require significantly more time to manufacture than simplified thermoplastic orthosis designs.
There exists a need in improving upon conventional AFO devices and traditional leather ankle gauntlets. There exists a need for an AFO device that is comfortable and provides needed support, and which can be conveniently fit for a user, including with regard to condition indications, such as ankle, subtalar or midtarsal instability, among others.